You started out with an idea and developed a business plan. Well, because let’s face it. Working a 9-to-5 for someone else is the last thing on earth that you want to do. So you decided to be your own boss, dreaming up what to do each day, and work from wherever you want.

Now, you’re in a position where you have this business (yay) with a tiny audience. You want to be seen by the masses, but you don’t know where to begin.

How do these bloggers and entrepreneurs make 6 figures in their first year, when I can barely get 5 people to view my website a day?

By figuring out exactly who their target audience is, creating useful content, engaging with their audience, and being consistent. Just because you’re your own boss now doesn’t mean that you can work whenever you feel like it. A wise, very successful (multimillionaire) Arbonne Consultant once told me:

“YOU CAN WORK YOUR BUSINESS PART-TIME, BUT YOU CAN’T WORK IT SOMETIMES.”

Meaning that you have to be consistent, staying on your potential client’s radar and providing them with value on a regular basis.

That was good quote... click the bird and tweet that. ;)

You CAN work part-time. There are days that I cram in 8 hours and then only work for 3-4 hours the next two days. You can TOTALLY be successful in building your business, with the right strategies, working 4 hours/day. But again, I still work 5-6 days a week. You can work it part time, but you CAN’T work it SOMETIMES.

| Consistency Rant Over | (...and for putting up with it I made you an intense daily/weekly checklist that you can grab at the bottom.)

Rewind back to the statement - ‘how entrepreneurs are making 6 figures in their first year’. Believe it or not, you can do it too.

By figuring out exactly who your target audience is - you can do that HERE.

And, by engaging with your audience... what we're talking about today!

What does engaging with your audience even mean? It means that you put yourself out there in front of them, you build their trust, and you socialize with them letting them know that you’re a cool human that they should be working with. Your readers need to see your expertise on a regular basis and to get to know your personality. This will build their loyalty to your brand and their confidence in you as the expert.

Here are a few ways that you can promote your business by engaging with your audience: (no fluff, the best ways to get the job done)

Consistency on social media: Through your business social media accounts. Try to post daily and socialize with your followers. Follow a few people in your niche each day. When they post something you like, like and comment on their post. Pinterest and Twitter are my favorites!

Closed Facebook groups: Join a few closed Facebook groups that have very active members who are also in your niche. These groups have your people already in them! It’s just up to you to put yourself out there in front of them. Be very personable in these groups, and make friends with the members. Post valuable posts without sounding like you’re trying to slip them a sales pitch. When someone has a question that falls in your territory, give them the most thorough answer!

Guest post, guest post, guest post: Guest posting is the best way to grow your audience. By asking someone in a similar or relevant niche if you can guest post on their blog and they accept, you will be exposed to their audience. Treat their audience well! Give them a lot of value and add a content upgrade, a download for free, that links back to your site so that they have to go to your website to grab it. We all love extra free content, am I right?! Busy bloggers really love having good guest posters to provide their audience with excellent content when they're swamped in other areas of their business.

Host a giveaway: You can also get your name out there (like I'm talking OUT THERE) by hosting an online giveaway, like this, that encourages readers to share with others to have their name entered in the drawing multiple times.

These were the first 4 tactics that I focused my time and energy on in the beginning months of my online business. Decide what you want to focus on and prioritize your time accordingly. Making friends and showing your face + brand online isn't hard... you just have to put forth the effort!

Which tactics will you implement this week? This month??

Here is a daily and weekly checklist that will help you expand your audience, show the masses your expertise, and score some awesome guest posting gigs. This is my checklist that I use daily to get this area of my business out of my head to make room for other creative goodness. Download it below.